Cost of Ownership Tesla Model 3 vs Camry

We’re seeing a lot more Tesla Model 3s on the road but do are they a good choice when we compare the cost of ownership of a Tesla Model 3 vs a Camry?

We’re going to run a calculation that compares the cost of ownership of a Tesla Model 3 Vs. Toyota Camry.

February 29, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

Cost of Ownership Inputs and Assumptions

For the calculation we take into account the following:

• Purchasing Price
• MPG
• Mileage Driven in a year
• Energy Consumed By The Car
• Unit price of energy – Cost per gallon of gas ($/gal) vs. cost of electricity ($/kWh)
• Insurance Cost using California for Toyota Camry vs. Tesla Model 3
• Total Cost of Tesla Model 3 vs Camry as a function of years

Read below for more details of the specific assumptions we’re making.

Purchasing Price

We’re going to use the starting purchasing price (MSRP) for 2023

Toyota Camry

The MSRP of a 2023 Toyota Camry starts at $25,945

Tesla Model 3

The MSRP of a 2023 Tesla Model 3 starts at $48,440.

MPG vs. kWh

We’re gonna compare the MPG of a Toyota Camry vs. the Kilowatts per hour consumed over the range of 100 miles

Toyota Camry

The mileage per gallon of a Toyota Camry comes to about 28 for city, 39 for highway, and 32 for combined.

For the purposes of this calculation, we’re going to be using 32 MPG for combined city and highway use.

Tesla Model 3

The kilowatt-hour (kWh) over 100 miles comes to about 23.9 for city, 26.5 for highway,

Mileage

For both cars in the calculation, we’re going to compare the total costs over driving 12000 miles in a year.

Cost of Energy

Gas

The cost of gas in California is approximately $4.50 per gallon.

Given that we’re going to be driving 12000 miles in a year and we’re using 32 combined miles per gallon, this comes to about 375 gallons consumed in a year.

The yearly cost of gas for a Toyota Camry would be $1687.50.

Electricity

The cost of electricity in California is approximately $0.28 per Kilowatt-hour.

Given that we’re going to be driving 12000 miles in a year and we’re using 25 kWh/100 miles, this comes to about 3000 kWh consumed in a year.

The yearly cost of electricity comes to $840.

(About half as much cheaper than gasoline!)

Cost of Insurance

Although the energy costs look cheaper and more attractive for electric, a lot of the cost difference from a Tesla Model 3 vs. Camry comes from insurance!

Toyota Camry

The average cost of insurance for a Toyota Camry in California comes to about $1600. (Source)

This number assumes the fact that you’re around 30~40 years old and have a clean driving record.

Tesla Model 3

The average cost of insurance for a Tesla Model 3 comes to about $2547 (Source)

This number assumes the fact that you’re around 30~40 years old and have a clean driving record.

Total Cost of Ownership Tesla Model 3 Vs Camry – 20 Year Outlook

So given all of the above inputs and assumptions, for the total cost of ownership Tesla Model 3 vs Camry, we get:

• Total Cost to own 2023 Toyota Camry over 20 years = $91,695
• Total Cost to own 2023 Tesla Model 3 over 20 years = $116,180

Although the cost of electricity is much cheaper compared to gas over time, the average cost of insurance of a Tesla Model 3 is much more expensive than average cost of insurance for a Toyota Camry.

The difference comes to about $25,000+ over 20 years!

Definitely not as cheap as you thought, when you only look at gas and electricity comparisons, right?

Check out Mastering Engineering Economics: Your Path to Career Success if you want to know more about economics and understand it’s relation to engineering.